Regarding Michael Dukakis and his campaign against apron parking in Westwood's North Village...

 I'd like to respond to Kevin Roderick's post, "Parkers resisting Dukakis so far." I find Roderick's flippant tone toward both Dukakis and Flexcar not only irritating, but also short-sighted. I also confess to being confused as to why any attempt to introduce solutions that would cut down on the horrific traffic and pollution problems in this city (and in Westwood in particular) is mocked--and even termed "exploitation."

This is why we're all still sitting in traffic on the 405. This is why we have no viable public transit. We need to get our collective heads out of the sand, stop being obsessed with our "right" to cruise around in gigantic, environmentally unsound vehicles and park them wherever we want, and start thinking about how to make this city's transportation situation more viable. And we really need to stop giggling and pointing fingers at the people who are unhip enough to try to do something about it or who provide a service that might offer viable alternatives.

Sincerely,

Andrea Jones
Ph.D. Candidate
UCLA English Department